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Amercement
An amercement is a financial penalty in English law, common during the Middle Ages, imposed either by the court or by peers. The noun "amercement" lately derives from the verb to amerce, thus: the king amerces his subject, who offended some law. The term is of Anglo-Norman origin ( Law French, from French, from Latin), and literally means "being at the mercy of": ''a-merce-ment'' (English '' mercy'' is cognate). While it is often synonymous with a fine, it differs in that a fine is a fixed sum prescribed by statute and was often voluntary, while an amercement is arbitrary. Amercements were commonly used as a punishment for minor offences (such as trespassing in the king's forest), as an alternative to imprisonment. History Early Norman rule This system of amercements is found in working order as early as the Norman Conquest of 1066, but was still regarded as an innovation at the accession in 1100 of Henry I. As the number of entities having legal jurisdiction over a given locati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asset Forfeiture
Asset forfeiture or asset seizure is a form of confiscation of assets by the authorities. In the United States, it is a type of criminal-justice financial obligation. It typically applies to the alleged proceeds or instruments of crime. This applies, but is not limited, to terrorist activities, drug-related crimes, and other criminal and even civil offenses. Some jurisdictions specifically use the term "confiscation" instead of forfeiture. The alleged purpose of asset forfeiture is to disrupt criminal activity by confiscating assets that potentially could have been beneficial to the individual or organization. Civil and criminal law Legal systems distinguish between criminal and civil proceedings. Criminal prosecutions regulate crimes against society as a whole or against the government. Penalties for conviction of a violation of a criminal law typically include being sent to prison, jail or some other form of incarceration. Civil litigation involves disputes either betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fine (penalty)
A fine or mulct (the latter synonym typically used in civil law) is a penalty of money that a court of law or other authority decides has to be paid as punishment for a crime or other offense. The amount of a fine can be determined case by case, but it is often announced in advance. The most usual use of the term is for financial punishments for the commission of crimes, especially minor crimes, or as the settlement of a claim. One common example of a fine is money paid for violations of traffic laws. Currently in English common law, relatively small fines are used either in place of or alongside community service orders for low-level criminal offences. Larger fines are also given independently or alongside shorter prison sentences when the judge or magistrate considers a considerable amount of retribution is necessary, but there is unlikely to be significant danger to the public. For instance, fraud is often punished by very large fines since fraudsters are typica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trading With The Enemy Act
Trading with the Enemy Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States relating to trading with the enemy. ''Trading with the Enemy Acts'' is also a generic name for a class of legislation generally passed during or approaching a war that prohibit not just mercantile activities with foreign nationals, but also acts that might assist the enemy. While originally limited to wartime, in the 20th century these Acts were applied in cases of national emergency as well. For example, in 1940, before the United States entry into World War II the president imposed broad prohibitions on the transfer of property in which Norway or Denmark, or any citizen or national of those countries, or any other person aiding those countries, had any interest, with the exception of transfers which were licensed under the regulations of the Department of the Treasury. List France *Continental System, French Napoleonic edict from 1806 to 1814 United Kingdom *The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Emergency Economic Powers Act
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Title II of , is a United States federal law authorizing the president to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States. The act was signed by President Jimmy Carter on December 28, 1977. Provisions In the United States Code, the IEEPA is Title 50, §§1701–1707. The IEEPA authorizes the president to declare the existence of an "unusual and extraordinary threat... to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States" that originates "in whole or substantial part outside the United States." It further authorizes the president, after such a declaration, to block transactions and freeze assets to deal with the threat. In the event of an actual attack on the United States, the president can also confiscate property connected with a co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frivolous Lawsuit
Frivolous litigation is the use of legal processes with apparent disregard for the merit of one's own arguments. It includes presenting an argument with reason to know that it would certainly fail, or acting without a basic level of diligence in researching the relevant law and facts. That a claim was lost does not imply the claim in itself was frivolous. Frivolous litigation may be based on absurd legal theories, may involve a superabundance or repetition of motions or additional suits, may be uncivil or harassing to the court, or may claim extreme remedies. A claim or defense may be frivolous because it had no underlying justification in fact, or because it was not presented with an argument for a reasonable extension or reinterpretation of the law. A claim may be deemed frivolous because existing laws unequivocally prohibit such a claim, such as a so-called Good Samaritan law. In the United States, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and similar state rules r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Were
''Were'' and ''wer'' are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures ( ang, wer, odt, wer, got, waír, ofs, wer, osx, wer, goh, wer, non, verr). In Anglo-Saxon law ''wer'' was the value of a man's life. He could be required to pay his ''wer'' to the king as a penalty for crime. If he was murdered then his relatives were entitled to his wergild as compensation from the murderer. Etymology and usage The word has cognates in various other languages, for example, the words ' (as in virility) and ' (plural ' as in Fir Bolg) are the Latin and Gaelic for a male human. While this prefix may not be derived from the above word,Concise OED, entry "werewolf" in folklore and fantasy fiction, ''were-'' is often used as a prefix applied to an animal name to indicate a type of therianthropic figure or shapeshifter (''e.g.'' "were-boar"). Hyphenation used to be mandatory, but is now commonly dropp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ages, boroughs were settlements in England that were granted some self-government; burghs were the Scottish equivalent. In medieval England, boroughs were also entitled to elect members of parliament. The use of the word ''borough'' probably derives from the burghal system of Alfred the Great. Alfred set up a system of defensive strong points ( Burhs); in order to maintain these particular settlements, he granted them a degree of autonomy. After the Norman Conquest, when certain towns were granted self-governance, the concept of the burh/borough seems to have been reused to mean a self-governing settlement. The concept of the borough has been used repeatedly (and often differently) throughout the world. Often, a borough is a single town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burgess (title)
Burgess was a British title used in the medieval and early modern period to designate someone of the Burgher class. It originally meant a freeman of a borough or burgh but later coming to mean an official of a municipality or a representative in the House of Commons. Usage in England In England, burgess meant an elected or unelected official of a municipality, or the representative of a borough in the English House of Commons. This usage of "burgess" has since disappeared. Burgesses as freemen had the sole right to vote in municipal or parliamentary elections. However, these political privileges in Britain were removed by the Reform Act in 1832. Usage in Scotland Burgesses were originally freeman inhabitants of a city where they owned land and who contributed to the running of the town and its taxation. The title of ''burgess'' was later restricted to merchants and craftsmen, so that only burgesses could enjoy the privileges of trading or practising a craft in the ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charter To Dunwich
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the recipient admits a limited (or inferior) status within the relationship, and it is within that sense that charters were historically granted, and it is that sense which is retained in modern usage of the term. The word entered the English language from the Old French ''charte'', via Latin ''charta'', and ultimately from Greek χάρτης (''khartes'', meaning "layer of papyrus"). It has come to be synonymous with a document that sets out a grant of rights or privileges. Other usages The term is used for a special case (or as an exception) of an institutional charter. A charter school, for example, is one that has different rules, regulations, and statutes from a state school. Charter can be used as a synonym for "hire" or "lease", as in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godefroy Family
Godefroy (Gothofredus), a French noble family, which numbered among its members several distinguished jurists and historians. The family claimed descent from Symon Godefroy, who was born at Mons about 1320 and was lord of Sapigneulx near Berry-au-Bac, now in the ''département'' of Aisne. Denis Godefroy (Dionysius Gothofredus) (1549–1622), jurist, son of Leon Godefroy, lord of Guigneccourt, was professor of law in Geneva. Denis's mother, Marie Lourdel, was the great granddaughter of Jacques III De Thou, and a cousin by marriage of the celebrated antiquarian Claude Fauchet. His eldest son, Théodore Godefroy (1580–1649), was born at Geneva on 14 July 1580. He abjured Calvinism, and was called to the bar in Paris. He became historiographer of France in 1613, and was employed from time to time on diplomatic missions. He was employed at the Congress of Münster, where he remained after the signing of peace in 1648 as ''chargé d'affaires'' until his death on 5 October of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Coke
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and Ned. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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